INTERMEDIATE I and II
9/14/10 to 11/16/10 (10 weeks)
Tuesday or Wednesdays 6:30-8:30pm
Students with about 7-8 months (for Intermediate I) and 1+ years (for Intermediate II) of Korean language Instruction.
Corresponding level of Korean proficiency to conduct basic social activities. Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.

+ Classes are held in Mid-Manhattan. Each class will be small (a maximum of 10 students) and focus on developing conversational Korean language skills in an informal atmosphere.
+ Tuition : $300 per 10-week session
($225 for Nodutdol members, low income people and students)
You can make a payment on-line at http://nodutdol.org/index.php/Lang_class/.
우리 같이 한국어를 배웁시다! Let’s all learn Korean together!

Please spread the word!

KEEP 2010 UPDATE: 16 Korean Americans from New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, the Bay Area and Seattle are now in the Republic of Korea for KEEP 2010! They have finished their journey to Jirisan, Kwangju, Naju farming and Jeju-do, and currently in Seoul.

Although it’s so hot and every day is packed to the maximum with meetings and site visits, they are all well and full of enthusiasm (and of course, full of soju and singing, apparently.)

Thank you so much for all your support for KEEP 2010 Fundraiser, which was held on July 10, 2010, Saturday night at International Action Center. The metropolitan New York KEEPers were able to raise approximately $4,000 for scholarship funds. Not only did we surpass our goal of $2,500, but the fundraiser also showed how efficiently KEEP could work together. Each KEEP member in the metropolitan New York area brought ingredients for Bibimbop (cooked rice mixed with various vegetables and meat) and created KEEP Bibimbop!

It wouldn’t have been possible without support from Nodutdol family and friends, and we thank you so much for being a supporter of Nodutdol and Nodutdol’s exposure programs.

DMZ to DC Report

From July 25th to July 27th, Nodutdol participated in the DMZ to DC Action with the National Campaign to End the Korean War, a coalition of groups that are calling for a peace treaty between the U.S. and North Korea. While groups in the US have been making this demand for decades, this renewed push started two years ago, with diverse groups ranging from the Veterans for Peace to the National Association of Korean Americans and the National Lawyers Guild Korean Peace Project.

Why this July in DC? 2010 marks the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean war – and July 27th marked the anniversary of the signing of the armistice – the document that temporarily ended the fighting – but did not end the war. So Nodutdol and Campaign members from around the country, came to DC to tell both the government and the public that sixty years of unending war is too much, and that a peace treaty must be signed.

On a burning hot Sunday, July 25th, Nodutdol members and supporters installed “100 BOJAGI FOR PEACE” - an interactive art piece that reflected the efforts and contributions from Korean-American communities from across the US and Canada. Laid out along the edge of the Capitol Reflecting pool, these bojagi represented the bundles carried by refugees during the Korean War. However, that day, with Capitol Hill as the backdrop, these bojagi came to life with audio interviews and written transcripts that recounted the memories of the war and wishes for peace excerpted from interviews with Korean War survivors and US and Korean soldiers' remembrances as well. Standing behind the bojagis was an 11-foot tall "new map" of the peninsula, a diverse patchwork of images imagined by communities in LA, the Bay area, Seattle, New York, and Toronto, of what a demilitarized Korea would look like. The exhibit was a haunting representation of the millions of Korean families who are still divided and affected by this near-permanent state of war. That night, a public program was held at the Justice Center in DC, in partnership with Sulu DC, with films and live performances that bridged to other divided communities.

Remembering the Korean War- Excerpts from the "100 Bojagis for Peace"

100 Bojagis for PeaceWashington DC, July 25th, 2010

These are excerpts from the interviews that played on speakers folded within the bojagis as part of the art exhibit.

Professor Ji, 84 years old, New York
I must have been in my early 20s when the war happened. It was a bit weird. Just one week prior to June 25, 1950, I was sent by my company to Busan on a business trip. Otherwise, I would have been dead or I would have been drafted to the army. Coming back from Japan after the liberation and not being able to go to my hometown due to the 38th parallel, I was just a young person without any family or relatives in Seoul. With a twisted luck, well, I am not sure if I should call it luck, but, I was in Busan at the time of the Korean War.

Living as a refugee was very hard and scary. The makeshift houses on top of mountains were often without any water. We didn’t have blankets. If you could share a blanket with 4-5 other people, you considered yourself lucky. We would have to climb down to the village to get drinking water and then climb back up the mountains. I don’t know how I survived. It was scary. It killed a lot of people, and made a lot of people suffer.

Now, when I look at the first generation Koreans in the U.S., I feel that they are losing their identity as Koreans. 2nd and 3rd generation Koreans have more interests in Korea. The immigrants from 70s and 80s lost their memories about the war. Recently, the President of South Korea stated that he is not afraid of a war. People forget about the war. The immigrants are mainly anti-communist, or rather anti-north. They do not understand how miserable a war is. They just think of conquering the North. We do not need a war in Korean peninsula. If there is a war, the entire Korean peninsula will suffer and be destroyed. At the time of Korean War, the weapons were still conventional and devastating. Now, we have more advanced weaponry. The entire Korea will disappear. I am sure if people realize that.

Peter Bronson, 76 years old, New York, Korean War Veteran
The reason I joined the military - part of it was, it was something to do and it was a way of getting away from home, and of course, there was the thrill of seeing the world. You don’t’ think you’ll end up in a place like Korea…

When squadron planes came in, we serviced them… The only time I thought about the war was when we had to load up munitions.., I don’t think I ever thought about where those bombs were going, or who would be at the other end of them. That’s the sad thing that I realize now.

KEEP FUNDRAISER REPORT

Fun, tasty, heart-wrenching, and with watermelon soju to boot – the New York fundraiser for the Korea Exposure and Education Program 2010 trip was enormously successful, raising funds while giving the audience an idea of what KEEP is, how past trips have impacted participants, - and what this year’s group is hoping to accomplish.

KEEP, which has been running since 1994, aims to increase awareness of and strengthen the global movement for peace and justice on the Korean peninsula and in the United States and North America. Through building relationships and communities, KEEP seeks to broaden our understanding of and participation in the liberation struggles and unification of the Korean people. This year, a record number of people are participating, including many Nodutdol members. The delegation’s trip in South Korea started on August 3rd and will end August 18th. Stay tuned for their report back on their trip in the next newsletter, and at various public events.

About Nodutdol eNews

Nodutdol eNews is the monthly e-mail newsletter of Nodutdol.Through grassroots organization and community development, Nodutdol seeks to bridge divisions created by war, nation, gender, sexual orientation, language, classes and generation among Koreans and to empower our community to address the injustice we and other people of color face here and abroad. Nodutdol works in collaboration with other progressive organizations locally, nationally and internationally as part of a larger movement for peace and social change.

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Support Nodutdol

Our work is only possible through the broad support of community members, friends, and allies. Nodutdol is incorporated under New York State law as a nonprofit corporation and is a 501(c)3 federal tax-exempt charitable organization. All donations to Nodutdol are tax-exempt.